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ADELAIDE, Australia—Qantas is making good progress in its narrowbody fleet renewal programs, and the carrier is starting to deploy its new Airbus A220s and A321XLRs on their first international routes.
The carrier’s 13th A220 was due to arrive in Australia on July 29, Qantas Domestic CEO Markus Svensson said during the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific held July 28-29. Qantas Group is due to receive another 10 during the fiscal year that began July 1, he said.
“We are getting to scale now, and the [A220] is doing really well for us,” Svensson said. “We’re finding its right niche . . . we’re getting comfortable with the aircraft, [and have] got through some of the teething issues and [are] really pushing the utilization up.”
The group ordered a total of 29 A220s. While they are primarily used in the domestic fleet, Qantas’ first A220 international route between Brisbane, Australia, and Wellington, New Zealand, was launched in February.
Svensson said this is a great example of a route where a smaller-capacity aircraft can deliver the frequency needed. The A220s will be used on more international routes, but Qantas has not yet decided which will be next, he added.
Qantas is also continuing to build its A321XLR fleet. It has taken delivery of seven of these so far, and another seven are due in the current fiscal year, Svensson said.
“We’re really happy with the performance of the aircraft,” Svensson said. “Again, the range is amazing, and we are going to put that to use.”
The XLRs for the Qantas mainline operation will eventually replace its Boeing 737-800s. So far the XLRs have been deployed in the domestic network, including on routes from the east coast of Australia to Perth on the West Coast.
Qantas plans to introduce the XLRs in its international network in October, replacing an A330 on its route between Brisbane and Manila, Philippines.
Changing to a smaller aircraft allows Qantas to have daily frequency on this route instead of 4-5 flights per week, Svensson said. This “effectively delivers the same amount of capacity, but in a more efficient way,” he said.
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